LDSLiving magazine January 20, 2014 Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mormons
Sierra Sivertson Today we remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts to end racial segregation in America and promote racial equality. Check out these 5 facts about Dr. King and his family interacting with Mormons. Dr. King is quoted as saying, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’” Each year, many Americans--and Mormons--honor Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of service by serving the people around them. What are you doing this year to honor Dr. King's legacy and serve others? If you're not sure, don't worry. You can start slow by checking out these five interesting facts you might not have known about the King family and the LDS Church. 1. Two copies of the Book of Mormon were found in Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal library when his house was sold in 1990. While we couldn’t find any particular instance of him quoting from it, we hope he was as inspired by the words therein as we are! 2. Dr. King once spoke at the University of Utah. He addressed a standing-room only crowd of 1700 people--including many a Mormon--and encouraged those listening to join the civil rights movement. As part of his address, he said: "We are standing on the threshold of the greatest period of racial development," he said. "The most important force behind the struggle . . . is the nonviolent resistance movement. It's our most potent weapon." His speech ended to a standing ovation. 3. To this day, general authorities of the Church continue to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. in talks and conference addresses. Dr. King's moving rhetoric has occasionally been used to help teach Latter-day Saints about the importance of freedom, turning the other cheek, practicing compassion, and treating our fellow man with love and respect. One of our favorite Dr. King quotes used in a talk by Elder Holland is: “When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that … [God] is able to make a way out of no way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.” 4. In 2013, James Taylor joined with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to sing a musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. While the entire concert was not focused on Martin Luther King Jr., the song “Shed a Little Light” was written for and dedicated tohim. Ruth Stevenson, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, said, “This musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King will always be a timely message.” 5. In 2010, Martin Luther King Jr.’s son, Martin Luther King III, was the Community Service Award recipient at the Church's Atlanta Public Affairs' ninth annual Black Family History Month Symposium. At the Symposium, Martin Luther King III spoke about his Realizing the Dream foundation. The goal of the foundation is to continue his parents’ legacy of service and racial equality. Martin Luther King III said he hopes this holiday comes to mean freedom for everyone across the world. Also at the symposium, Martin Luther King III was presented with his Church-compiled four-generation family genealogy. Hundreds of non-LDS genealogy enthusiasts were in attendance at the symposium where it was announced that the Church was joining forces with the National Archives at Atlanta to increase the tools available to African Americas to research their family history. These efforts include digitizing World War II draft cards and thousands of slave manifests from the 1700s and 1800s, which will make them more available to researchers. We love seeing collaborations like this that help more people find their ancestors. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
